No one doubts the fiscal challenges facing America. Congress needs to closely scrutinize every dollar spent and ask what taxpayers are getting in return. Unfortunately, the House of Representatives-passed resolution to fund the government through 2011 takes a different approach when it comes to growing America's clean energy economy.

Arizona utilities continue to roll out projects to use renewable resources such as solar, wind and biomass, but the state lags far behind the nation as a whole in the use of renewable energy sources to produce electricity.

The Arizona Corporation Commission voted Monday to require Arizona utilities to acquire more of their electricity from nonpolluting, renewable sources such as solar and wind power, overriding concerns about the cost and attainability.

SIOUX FALLS, S.D. - Corn is the seasoned veteran of the ethanol industry, but promising prospects including wood chips and prairie grass — including switchgrass, made famous by President Bush — could soon be in the alternative energy lineup.

The future of a mandate to use more renewable energy — and force Arizona customers to pay more to buy it — could be in the hands of Gov. Janet Napolitano.

Renewable energy is all the rage these days. With gasoline prices rising, with greenhouse gases and global warming at the forefront of public concern, the lure of pollution-free energy from windmills, photovoltaic solar panels and geothermal wells has never been stronger.

A draft alternative energy plan prepared by the staff of Salt River Project proposes that the utility acquire 15 percent of its electricity from sustainable energy sources such as wind and solar by 2025, up from 2 percent now.

The power shift in Congress will bring a “completely different world” in energy policy with an increased emphasis on climate change, renewable energy and energy effi ciency, according to participants at the fourth-annual Arizona Energy Summit sponsored by the Arizona Association of Industries Thursday at the Pointe South Mountain Resort in Phoenix.

Code Electric, a 43-yearold Tempe-based electrical contractor, has launched a new solar systems business to serve the growing interest in solar energy in Arizona.

Two of the hot-button fields of scientific study — nanotechnology and solar energy — are being combined by a team of Arizona State University researchers in an effort to find a cheap source of household energy for the nation’s future.

The Arizona Corporation Commission gave fi nal approval to a program Tuesday designed to increase the use of renewable energy by Arizona electric utilities.

Whether you're in your 20's or 60's, energy can be something to envy.

Whether you're in your 20's or 60's, energy can be something to envy.

The bait and lure were tossed out during the postgame interview, but Shawn Marion wasn’t biting.

Can Arizona State University's Polytechnic campus be a world leader in developing an alternate fuel source for transportation?

Rick Majerus is out as a candidate for ASU’s basketball coaching job, according to a source familiar with the process. Majerus cited health concerns when he resigned from his job in early 2004 as the coach at Utah, where he led the team to the NCAA title game in 1998.

State utility regulators voted Wednesday to require that 15 percent of all electricity sold in Arizona by 2025 be generated from "renewable’’ sources.

Drew Buscareno runs a homeless shelter in South Bend, Ind., that takes care of 200 people a day. John Hess is chief executive of Amerada Hess Co., an energy company with $13 billion a year in sales.

Arizona Public Service said Wednesday it is seeking proposals for two new renewable energy projects in Arizona, one for a new source of photovoltaic solar energy and the other for wind power.

Arizona Corporation Commissioner Kris Mayes said Monday she wants the state's electric utilities to push harder to develop renewable energy sources such as solar, wind, geothermal and biomass.

A judge has rejected a legal challenge to the authority of the Arizona Corporation Commission to require that utilities generate 15 percent of their power from renewable sources by 2025.

Standing at a gas station where regular unleaded was selling for $3.49 a gallon, Republican congressional candidate Dave Schweikert challenged opponent Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., to help promote more domestic oil drilling.

State utility regulators took the first steps Thursday to mandate the use of more expensive renewable energy, comparing it to requiring seat belts in cars and forcing children to eat their broccoli.

Even before construction has started on a solar energy farm in Queen Creek, the planned facility has been sold for $75 million.